Chapter 5
"One of the good things about becoming Awakened is that men don't have to serve in the military, right? I got turned into a woman, but some idiots still tried to drag me into the military, insisting that being Awakened made no difference. I got so mad I nearly wrecked them. They'd already climbed pretty high in the Tower, too. Pathetic, right?"
"Is that so?"
Was that why the Ministry of National Defense almost got wiped out a few years ago?
From the way Mi-reu talked, it sounded like several people had jumped her. They must have all been pretty capable, having climbed at least to the middle floors.
Before I knew it, I was eating dinner at Han Mi-reu's place.
Maybe because she was a dragon, there was a lot of meat, but surprisingly, she hadn't forgotten the vegetables, either.
It tasted better than I'd expected.
"When you live alone, you naturally end up trying all sorts of things. Have you never done that, So-jeong?"
"No."
"Aw, come on~ You could've at least learned something online! Maybe gotten a certification or two."
"I don't know much about that. I've only ever lived without the internet."
"You lived such a boring life, didn't you?"
As she kept insisting that she'd teach me how to use the internet after dinner, all I could think was that this was going to become a hassle, too.
For some reason, I'd become this dragon's roommate before I knew it.
When I said I could just sleep rough, she said I'd catch a cold. Even when I tried to leave, she dragged me back inside in no time.
If I jumped off the balcony, she'd fly down and snatch me up right away.
From what I saw when I fell, it looked like a luxury apartment. Maybe she had a lot of money because she was the head of the Management Bureau.
She said she'd used the magic stones she'd gotten from climbing the Tower to buy an entire floor. The soundproofing was excellent, so neither noise from other floors nor streaming was a problem, apparently.
I'd wondered what people used magic stones for, but it turned out they were being put to good use as a next-generation energy source.
Apparently, if they stockpiled enough magic stones from the highest floors, they could power the entire country for over ten years without any problems.
In places with vast territories, like China, Russia, and the US... Well, they have lots of people, so I guess it all evens out.
...As we talked, something suddenly occurred to me.
"What's streaming?"
"Ooh? Are you interested in broadcasting?"
At my question, Mi-reu's eyes lit up as she asked me.
Before I Awakened, I'd occasionally seen ads for streamers or VTubers while walking around town. I'd even seen VTuber merchandise from time to time.
"I just remembered seeing those things while I was out and about. There's no particular reason."
"I see. Ads and merchandise, huh... Have you ever thought about streaming, So-jeong?"
"I don't know. I've lived without the internet or a phone, so I've never really thought about what I should do. I don't feel like doing anything, either. I thought I'd just pass the time looking after the elderly people in my building, then die after they'd all passed away. But now I can't even do that."
I was a little envious of people who burned themselves up for something.
Because I couldn't feel that way.
What did they see in it? What made them work so hard?
If it was just to make money, I could understand, but...
If you asked me whether there was something more valuable than the work they were doing... I still wouldn't know.
What were they yearning for so intensely...?
"...Really? Even now, there's nothing in your heart that makes you go 'bam!'?"
"Probably not."
"Heh-heh~ Is that so? You have to try things yourself to find out!"
"What?"
"Greetings, you little hatchlings! Mimir-chan is here!"
-Hey, Chief-chan
-Same high energy as always today
-Who's the pretty girl behind you?
-Chief-chan, did you pick up another pretty girl?
There were all sorts of electronic devices, like cameras, monitors, speakers, and microphones. It looked like the kind of setup you'd see in a broadcasting studio.
I could only stare at Mi-reu's back as she suddenly struck a strange pose toward the camera and shouted into the microphone.
But what's this Mimir-chan business?
Something like little Korean letters were pouring out beside the monitor. What was that?
"But what are you doing?"
"Can't you tell? I'm streaming!"
"No, why'd you change the way you talk? What are you doing?"
-Now that I get a closer look, she's white-haired and red-eyed. Is she a vampire?
-The vampire's holed up in Japan being a NEET.
-You friends with the vampire or something?
-She's my neighbor. (photo)
-LMAO hahahahaha
-The neighbor vampire LMAO
"Are vampires white-haired and red-eyed, too?"
"That's right! The vampire worked too hard for too long, then the rebound hit hard, so Tower climbing has been put on hold for now! Still, vampires are pretty well-behaved."
I'd heard an update about a vampire I hadn't thought about or even been curious about.
I didn't know all the details, but apparently the vampire was ridiculously powerful, able to sunbathe and go in water without any problems, yet had gone into full 'it's dangerous outside the blanket' mode.
But was it okay to just talk about someone else's business like this?
-Come to think of it, where'd you get the girl beside you?
"Oh dear, I nearly forgot! It's time for introductions!"
"Introductions?"
"Now, look at the camera and tell us your name and age!"
"?"
-Here we go again
-What's with her pointing at herself? C-cute
-That totally clueless look, lol. Did you pick her up in the Tower?
-At this point, isn't this basically kidnapping?
-Kidnapping dragon LMAO
"Who are you calling a kidnapper?! Now, come on! Get started!"
"Ah... Is that so? My name is Joo So-jeong, I'm 20, and my class is Phoenix. I Awakened three or four days ago. Ah."
"A-are you all right?"
I bit my tongue. It hurts.
-Did she bite her tongue?
-Cute.
-Cute
-Cute
-I wanna raise her
-?
"Oh, right! What are your hobbies?"
"Suicide."
"Hahaha, there you go again! That kind of joke isn't funny—"
"I'm serious."
"?"
-?
-??
-???
-Isn't it being a hero?
-How can suicide be a hobby?
-How can self-destruction be a hobby?
I wasn't sure what they were, but the Korean characters flooding across the screen looked flustered. I'd only told the truth, so why?
"Maybe it's because I'm a phoenix, but even after getting shot in the head, I'm still perfectly fine. Isn't that enough to make it a hobby?"
-Usually, if your head gets blown apart, it doesn't matter if you're Awakened, ma'am
-Was that you who came to the Management Bureau yesterday or the day before because of a sniper?
"To be precise, I didn't run away. I let them shoot me a few times, then got annoyed and tried to blend in with the ordinary people, but they kept sniping at me anyway. So I didn't want anyone else to get caught up in it..."
-I know exactly who those fucking bastards are
-The Jumeolhoe aren't even human
-Then they're animals?
-Apologize to the animals
"So the people who tried to kill me were with the Jumeolhoe. Are they famous?"
"It'd be a relief if they were only famous. They kept getting more and more extreme, until they sank so low as to deliberately collapse Towers."
"Ah..."
Considering what happened when a Tower collapsed, those Jumeolhoe people—or whatever they were called—seemed far more dangerous than I'd thought. I could understand why people called them terrorists.
From the comments coming in, it was immediately clear that everyone hated the Jumeolhoe.
"In that case, to commemorate this, I'll try hanging myself (Shrrk!!)...?"
"Let's start the game."
-Did you have something in your hand?
-There was a noose made of rope, but it got torn apart.
-That was just shredded.
I'd wanted to try dying by suffocation, but the rope I'd planned to use had somehow been shredded before I even noticed.
But...
"What's a game?"
"You don't know?"
"I know what playing is."
"It's similar! It's just playing while sitting in this chair! Come on, pick one already!"
Mi-reu's forceful grip dragged me over and practically forced me into a chair.
I saw all sorts of different pictures.
Some were cute, some looked flashy, and some showed people trying to fight monster-like things with weapons...
"......"
"Why aren't you picking one?"
"How do I pick one?"
"...You've never been to a PC bang?"
"No."
"What about school?"
"I didn't even go to elementary school."
-Uh, well...
-So your highest education is kindergarten?
-This is the first time someone with no education has popped up on this stream.
-Why didn't you go to school? Your parents didn't send you?
"They died during the Tower disaster, so I don't have any. All my relatives died, too. I'm the only one left in the family tree."
"Kheuk."
-Fuck, I'm sorry
-My bad
-You bastard, pulling a Talulra on us!
-Losing all your relatives, too, is rough
-So you're one of us, then
"I don't really know what Talulra means, but how do I pick one of these?"
"Ahem! Now, pay attention. This is called clicking."
Mi-reu took my hand and used something called a computer mouse and a keyboard to teach me the basics of the internet.
Surprisingly, it didn't take that long to learn how to use the internet.
The one I picked was a fishing game set at sea.
You sailed around in a boat, used various tools to fish, and made money from your catches. Sometimes you got materials that you could use to upgrade your boat, letting you catch fish in different areas. Apparently, there were deep-sea fish and even volcanic fish.
"Why are this cod's eyes so huge?"
"It's a mutation. You can sell it for more than an ordinary fish, so keep it safe."
"Are there other mutants, too?"
"As many kinds as there are fish. At least two?"
-Of all the fishing games, you picked that one
-That thing's always creepy
-Sea monsters can wreck your boat, so be careful
"Sea monsters? There are monsters, too?"
"You'll find out faster if you see for yourself. And you'll learn what they are when night falls near the village!"
When night came, I was heading back to the village. I spotted a ship and went to check it out, but it was a mirage.
And one made by a huge anglerfish, at that.
"It's big."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"It's a little annoying. If this were real, I'd go inside right away, blow it up with Explosion, and head back."
-Can't argue with that
-There's nothing more annoying than being unable to attack a monster right in front of you
-More importantly, can getting eaten, an explosion ending, and returning all happen at once?
-Ah, she's a phoenix, so she won't die anyway LMAO
"The booster... Ah, this one."
I didn't get eaten, but my boat got damaged a little after I ran into the monster and some reefs a few times, and I lost a few fish along with it.
Anyway, I kept my cool and escaped. Once I got near the village, the monster suddenly turned around and swam away. It must have had a set territory.
I sold the fish that were left and repaired the boat. I kept stocking up on materials in the storage, and tried some quests, too.
But it was taking longer than I expected... Then I found out it was the sort of game you normally played over several days.
"I've installed the DLCs, too, so there's surprisingly a lot to do! So, are you going to stop here?"
"...Does it have an ending, too?"
"Two of them."
"Then I'll keep playing until I've seen both."
"Huh? You're not going to stop after seeing one?"
"I'm just curious how it'll end."
I wasn't sure, but... I felt like I wanted to try doing a little more.
Maybe I'd take a short break from climbing the Tower until I saw both endings...